This is Halvoo (Halvöby in Swedish), a fictional city on the southern coast of Finland. It will be set in an alternate reality, where Finns aren’t afraid of high rise buildings. Also it will be more compact than an actual Finnish city this size would be. That’s to make it possible for me to reach the suburbs some time – though I probably never will get to modeling the suburbs. The planned area is 10 km x 10 km, about 100 times more than what I covered with Bourne – and that took me years.

To introduce you to the city, here’s a short recap of its history. I’ve tried to make it in line with the actual history of Finland, but I’ve used artistic freedom here and there.

Chronological history

11th century:
First signs of permanent settlement on Halvoonniemi cape.

15th century:
Halvoonkylä trade village is located at approximately the current downtown area.

1674:
Halvoo is given city rights.

1760’s:
Halvoonlinna, a fort protecting the harbor, is completed.

1829:
The latest great fire destroys most of the city. A new grid plan is drawn for the city by Carl Olof Cederfelt.

Start of modeling: the Market Square. It is located on the north side of the Old Port - which nowadays mostly has only ships converted to restaurants at berth; the one active ship being the ferry to the Halvoonlinna fortress. From spring to autumn, the Market Square is very active with vendors selling fresh Finnish food and souvenirs. There are also many outdoor cafés at the square.

Cool city! How many skyscrapers do you plan to have and how tall will the tallest be?

Well, I don't have exact plans, but I'm thinking the tallest will be around 200 meters. I guess it will be located in some of the redevelopment zones, so it will be a while (years, I guess) before I get to model it. The highrises in the city center will probably all be under 150 meters.

Skyscraper enthusiasm hit Halvoo in the 1920's. This building, Apollontorni, at the corner of Kirkkokatu and Nikolainkatu streets, was one of the highrises constructed during that decade. It's 62 meters tall.

Here's a couple of former port warehouses converted to a congress center (the Satama Congress Center) and small restaurants / shops. The Laituri 1 ("Pier One") restaurant at the tip of that pier offers its customers delicious dishes as well as great views of the city.

The Teuermann department store is the largest and most expensive department store in Halvoo. It was founded by German merchant Rudolf Teuermann, who came to Finland in the 1880's. The current building was completed in the 1910's and originally occupied about two thirds of the block. The store has since expanded, and with the extension completed in the 1980's, it now occupies the whole block.

Across the Kirkkokatu street is one of Halvoo's pre-war highrises. The headquarters of Untamo insurance company, built in the 1930's, is 55 meters tall.